Deputy Speaker of Parliament Valeriu Giletski probably forgot that the current composition of the legislature reflects not the will expressed by the people in the parliamentary elections of 2014, but rather the ruling party’s ability to enroll and intimidate current parliamentary opponents. Valeriu Giletski reflects yet rather faithfully the democratic government’s dissatisfaction with civil society, says the authors of a new Sic! article, referring to a recent roundtable meeting where the Deputy Speaker said the political decision makers should not respond before NGOs, if only before the voters. “Don’t be angry, but we cannot be hostage of this factor that is called control by civil society as we are actually voted by the people.” The assertion was made after an NGO complained that Parliament adopts a lot of amendments without holding public consultations.
The Sic! authors say the accusations against NGOs are not something new for the current government and its satellites. Bloggers, journalists, trolls and Democratic officials criticized the flaws of civil society in a synchronized way. The main accusations are that the NGOs are politically biased, the financing they get from abroad implies the defending of foreign interests and that they are an entity that exists apart from the rest of society and thus do not have the same rights as the citizens.
The Government of Moldova officially recognizes the NGOs’ role in facilitating the dialogue between the state and the citizens and in exerting civic control over political processes. Moreover, by the strategic plan for developing Civil Society for 2017-2020, Moldova pledged to create the conditions needed by the NGOs to develop and work. The article authors wonder if the state institutions fulfil this commitment.
“Despite Mister Giletski’s arguments that are just the most recent verbalization of the authorities’ bellicose position towards the NGOs, these are, by definition, forms of association of the people, which is of the voters. In a democratic state, civil society plays a crucial role in the democratic processes, defending citizens’ rights, reacting to the abuses committed by the power, identifying mistakes and deficiencies in laws and public policies, etc. The NGOs are a kind of source of expertise, legitimacy and human resources,” said the Sic! authors.
They consider the Democratic government is probably bothered namely because the NGOs bring together more competent and credible specialists than those from the PDM’s company into relatively independent bodies. Besides the fact that these specialists identify authorities’ departures and inform society about these, they are more trusted by the foreign backers that are rather disappointed in the government. A powerful civil society means a maneuvering space and a much smaller erroring possibility for the authorities.
Sic! is a fact-checking, synthesis and analysis project implemented by IPN with support from Soros Foundation Moldova and the Black Sea Trust. The full article in Romanian can be read here.
